


the spell you got on me

by hypernovaes



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst, Anxiety, Gen, Witches, vague mention of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 02:54:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7783960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hypernovaes/pseuds/hypernovaes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remember that time Nico agonizingly taught Hanayo the finer points of being a witch, despite not having a hint of ability for it herself?</p>
            </blockquote>





	the spell you got on me

**Author's Note:**

> SASO 2016 prompt fill for elucidatedlucy.

_There's a little bit of magic in everything and everyone._ That's what Nico's papa had told her, once upon a time.

Unfortunately for her, Nico did not have any magic. She could, at most, fly a measly two inches off the ground when riding a broomstick, and she would have better luck setting water on fire than making an actual, working potion.

No matter how hard she tried or how long she studied, Nico Yazawa was never going to be a witch. 

Ever.

There was no magic in the world nor spell that existed that was ever going to change that, and at first, Nico refused to accept it. She tried, and tried, and tried again and again and again. She read every spellbook and book on magical theory she could get her hands on, and spent hours late into the night trying again and again to do the spell right. Because surely, this time it would work. If she had just the right inflection in her tone of voice, if she twisted her wrist just a hair more to the right, if she poured all her heart and soul into her incantation, then this time, this time for certain, she'd do it!

Nico had to learn the hard way that sometimes, no matter how hard you tried, your best just wasn't good enough. 

She might have been able to accept that and move on. But then her baby brother and sisters were born, and Nico couldn't help herself. She told them stories about her heroic adventures and studies around the world, about how she had studied with the best witches of their generation, and was now the most amazing, most powerful, the greatest witch of them all! And they ate up her words like they were made of mochi, and for once, the gazes fixed on Nico were not full of pity.

When they asked her to show them spells, she would merely cite the age old rule that underage witches could not perform magic outside of school. And they certainly didn't have to know that the school she went to wasn't for magic. They didn't have to know that their big sister, the coolest most wonderful witch of them all, didn't have one drop of magic in her body.

They didn't have to know.

It was during Nico's final year of high school that she realized she was going to have to tell them the truth, and soon. She had been sitting alone in the Magic Research Club room, flipping through pages of a spellbook she's reread for about the hundredth time now, when her moody thoughts were interrupted by timid knocking at the door.

"Umm, h-hello, is this the Magic Research Club?" Nico glanced up, barely registering brown hair and violet eyes, before her gaze fell back down to the words on the page.

"Yeah, what about it?" She asked dismissively; this was probably some new first year hazing ritual for one of the other clubs. Well, they were going to have to pry this room out of her cold dead fingers, and no trembling baby first year was going to convince her to give up her clubroom-

"I-Is it- Can I- MayIpleasejoinyourclub?"

Nico narrowed her eyes back up at the girl again. The poor thing looked like she was about to cry, but first... "Close the door," she ordered her, as she closed the book with a soft thump and got to her feet. The brunette squeaked in affirmation, before fumbling with the door and sliding it shut. Silently, Nico took a deep breath, glaring with her hands on her hips at the first year. "Do you have magic?" She asked frankly, watching as the other girl flustered in place, looking anywhere except directly at Nico.

"I-I-I, I mean, I- I certainly have an interest in magic, and I think it's amazing and wonderful and truly stupendous in theory and would love to learn more about it and just how exactly it works and-" She suddenly paused to suck in another breath, before exhaling loudly, her shoulders wilting in defeat. "And, I- I- yes. I have magic." She finally met Nico's eyes, tears welling up behind her glasses as her bottom lip trembled. "Please please please don't tell the principal, I-I only found out myself a short while ago, not even my parents know about this, and after all they did to make sure I could go to this school I can't just-"

Nico held up a hand, and almost instantly, the girl quieted. "What's your name?"

"H-Hanayo! Hanayo Koizumi!" Hanayo tentatively smiled, and surprisingly, Nico found herself smiling back.

"I'm Nico Yazawa, and I'd be happy to have you in the Magic Research Club."

-

A month later, they were on the roof of the school, taking a break from Nico's rigorous training regime. Hanayo seemed to be having a hard time getting the hang of levitation, but still, she had learned everything else so easily! It was only a matter of time before she understood this spell too. And then it was on to the next thing. Nico was itching to get her started on potions, and then-

"Hey Nico, can I ask you a question?" Nico glanced over at the other girl sitting beside her. It had taken just one day for Hanayo to drop the formalities between them, and only a week for them to exchange email addresses and phone numbers. They stayed up late into the night talking about magic and famous witches and what they would try tomorrow.

So Nico smiled smugly, and reached out a hand to ruffle Hanayo's hair. "Of course, my best and most diligent pupil!"

Hanayo laughed and swatted Nico's hand away, before quieting down again. She wasn't quite meeting Nico's gaze anymore, and that made Nico's gut twist with nerves. W-What did Nico have to be nervous about anyway, though?

"How... why do you know so much about magic? And why are you teaching me?"

Her stomach dropped, and suddenly, Nico couldn't breathe. She swallowed down the lump in her throat, and tried to remember what inhaling and exhaling felt like as she turned her gaze up towards the sky.

"N-Not that I'm not grateful, or anything! Because I am! Grateful, that is. I'm so happy that I met you, and that you're teaching me like this, and that I... I have someone I can talk to about all of this, and not have to keep it a secret, and..."

The girls fell into a heavy silence, as Nico kept her eyes fixed heavenward, slowly piecing her thoughts together. She found the right words to say, like she was weaving her own spell to cast between the two of them.

She sucked in a breath, clenched her hands into fists, and quietly began to talk. "My little sisters and brother, they have magic. My mama has magic, and my papa had magic. I'm the only one who doesn't have magic in my entire family." She wasn't going to cry, she told herself forcefully, squashing down the feelings that were rising up like bile in her heart. "I studied so hard, but nothing I did worked. So I gave up. And then I met you, Hanayo." She turned her head to smile at the girl she now called her friend. "And I realized that... it's okay if I don't have magic. Because at the very least, I can put my knowledge to good use and help you learn."

Neither of them spoke for a while, allowing Nico's too genuine words to sink into their skin. Nico became more and more aware of how sincere she had just been, how honest and trusting and- abruptly, she stumbled to her feet, stretching her arms over her head. "W-Well! It's about time we get back to work, now where did that pen go..."

A soft hand enveloped itself around Nico's, and Nico quieted, waiting for whatever her gentle friend had to say in reply.

"But Nico, I think you do have magic," Hanayo's voice was warm as she squeezed her hand reassuringly around Nico's. "You can't cast any spells yourself, but your magic is teaching people. And you're amazing at it! You're the best teacher I know. So thank you, Nico."

Well, so much for not crying. Nico sniffled, but couldn't stop the smile on her face. She pulled Hanayo into a tight hug, to which Hanayo laughed and hugged her back, rubbing Nico's back as she got tears and snot all over Hanayo's shirt. It was a good kind of crying, though, and Nico smiled to herself, her happiness a little fluttering thing in her chest.

_Thank **you,** Hanayo._

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the song Magic by Mystery Skulls.


End file.
